This invention relates to coin-operated public telephones and more particularly to an improved vandal-resistant, compact public telephone installation in which the telephone is enclosed in rigid components of a support structure for maximum security and weather protection.
The prior art public telephones generally have employed a separate housing enclosing the phone, coin box, and associated equipment, with the phone dial being operated from the exterior of the housing and with the hand set, or transmitter-receiver, connected to the housing by a cord containing the required conductor elements. In such installations, the cord is conventionally encased within a flexible steel sheath in an effort to protect the instrument against vandalism. The separate housing is attached by mounting bolts to a supporting structure such as a pole, mounting plate, or the like. Such housings generally are not weather-proof, however, and do not provide complete protection for either the enclosed equipment or the exposed components such as the hand set, with the result that a separate shield or enclosure is normally provided, either in the form of a weather hood, or a completely enclosed booth. Even such housings offer some exposure to weather because the hoods have an open front and booths are generally provided with doors that remain open when not in use.
Since the coin box of conventional public phones is located within the housing enclosing the phone equipment, the delicate components of the equipment are highly vulnerable to damage by any attempt at coin theft involving forced entry into the enclosure.
The prior art public telephones generally have been installed at a height making it difficult or impossible for them to be used by short persons including children and handicapped persons confined to wheelchairs. While the hand set of such phones is conventionally attached by a cord capable of reaching to a lower level, the storage hook for the hand set, the phone dial, and coin slot, particularly for walk-up type telephones as opposed to booth phones, has been at a height making use of the phone difficult or impossible by such short people. And it is generally not possible for the handicapped confined to wheelchairs to use phones in conventional booths. It is, of course, known to install telephones at a lower height to accommodate the handicapped but this practice has generally involved either two separate telephone installations, or a single installation so low that it is difficult to use by the average adult person while standing.
Prior art public telephones also have generally not been installed in positions capable of access from automobiles due at least in part to the space requirement of the weather hoods generally used with such phone installations.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide an improved coin-operated public telephone mounted within a rigid supporting structure and which is highly resistant to damage by vandalism.
Another object of the invention is to provide such a public telephone which is protected against the weather by the enclosing support structure without requiring a separate weather hood or enclosure.
Another object of the present invention is to provide such a public telephone including transmitter and receiver apparatus mounted within the supporting structure and capable of use at various levels.
Another object of the invention is to provide a free-standing public installation requiring a minimum of space.